Fighting hunger & illiteracy

Every individual can do their bit to eradicate hunger in the society and with this objective in mind, Rotaract Club of Miyapur, D 3150, took up ‘Project Lunch Box’ to distribute freshly prepared food for underprivileged children, destitute and beggars in and around Hyderabad. The Rotaractors have distributed over 350 lunch boxes since July when it was started and the club has drawn up plans to expand the project by roping in all 88 Rotaract clubs of the district.

At present, 50 Rotaractors are involved in Project Lunch Box. Their families prepare and pack food for extra persons in the morning. “Our teams branch out to diverse areas including busy junctions, thoroughfares where one can easily spot the poor begging for alms. We also visit temples, government hospitals and destitute homes to deliver food,” says DRR Sneha Naraparaju. While the lead club has only 26 Rotaractors, “members from other clubs too pitch in and join our team on weekends.” At present six clubs are jointly implementing the project.

Share Care Smile

Initiated in 2016 by RAC Hyderabad Himayathnagar, the club members visit private and international schools and talk with the students on the importance of sharing notebooks and stationery with the less privileged children in orphanages and government schools. Each student is encouraged to donate a notebook, storybook or previous year’s book, along with stationery items. Rotaractors collect the study materials and distribute to the needy students at their schools.

“The project is a big hit with various Rotaract clubs worldwide,” says Sneha. Seventy Rotaract clubs from 25 districts in six countries have reached out to nearly 5,000 beneficiaries in orphanages and government schools.
A toy library was constructed by a club in Brazil for students. More than 260 Rotaractors took part to make this project a grand symbol of Share Care Smile. “In our district alone, 150 Rotaractors from 15 clubs are taking part in the project,” says B Shreyas Gupta, President, RAC Hyderabad Himayathnagar.

Life skill training

This year the district has launched ‘Skillio’, a life-skill training ­programme for schoolchildren in grades 6 to 10. It is a four-year activity-based programme where they are groomed in personality development, communication and public speaking skills by certified trainers. Twenty-five Rotaractors have been specially trained by Life Skills, a facility headed by Rtn KS Sharma of RC Hyderabad, to impart lessons in skillsets. Sessions include team building, vocabulary development, brain storming among 1,500 copyrighted activities. At the end of the fourth year, children undergo a psychometric test that will help them choose an apt career. “We’ve undertaken the programme in two schools and about 500 children are getting trained. We’re adding two more schools in January,” says an excited Sneha.